Vast amounts of research have accrued over the years related to developing treatments against cancers to inhibit and kill tumor cells. Some of this research has resulted in achieving some success in finding clinically approved treatments. Nevertheless, efforts continue at an ever-increasing rate in view of the extreme difficulty in uncovering promising anticancer treatments. For example, even when a compound is found to have cytotoxic activity, there is no predictability of it being selective against cancer cells.
One particular compound that has been used rather widespread is cytosine arabinoside, commonly referred to as Ara-C.